How this relates to gun rights is a no-brainer. Hunting  despite what some of the gun rights purists insist  really is part of the gun rights puzzle, and even Justice Antonin Scalia made that clear in his Heller majority ruling in 2008. Gun rights also involve self-defense, and that includes self-defense against animals. Anybody wanting to dispute the fact that wild animals arent dangerous should take it up with Bellevue City Councilman John Chelminiak, who was mauled by a black bear at his Lake Wenatchee vacation cabin, or with the family of Robert Boardman of Port Angeles, who was killed by a mountain goat the other day in Olympic National Park. Wolves killed a teacher last winter in Alaska, and a few years ago, killed a man in Canada. It seems to surprise newcomers to the Pacific Northwest that once you get off the pavement around here, you're in the wilderness and there are places where there is no such thing as "9-1-1."

Gents:
I am astonished at some of the reactions that column has gotten in the first 24 hrs.
A couple of people, one who claims to be a gun owner, refuse to believe there is a connection between this wolf fiasco and gun rights.

For years, the anti-gunners and anti-hunters have worked toward the same thing: abolition of guns and abolition of the reason to have certain firearms.

Don't forget to weigh in at the bottom of the column, or even post a reply to a comment.

I've been in Idaho for a year now and was really pleased at Butch Otters statement.

This was my first year hunting elk in Idaho. I was archery hunting at the end of August. The night before opening, I was sitting under a pine tree in the middle of a meadow around dusk where I had seen some elk earlier. No elk this time but sure enough 2 huge wolves come trotting through the field. I watched them for about half an hour until they went into the forest right where I was planning on hunting in the morning. Stupid wolves. Good thing it wasn't rifle season. How endangered can they be if a terrible hunter like me runs into 2 of them!

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